The Virgin Atlantic Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 - Ruby: a blog by Virgin Atlantic The Virgin Atlantic Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 Our Experience In 1984, the inaugural Virgin Atlantic transatlantic flight took place. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of this historic event, we’re introducing our new Boeing 787-9 , also known as the “˜Dreamliner.’ Named Birthday Girl, this brand new aircraft will start flying from London to Boston, USA on 28 October 2014. It’s a whole new chapter for air travel. Here’s why”¦ The new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Prepare for an evolution in air travel A strong connection Now, you can stay connected throughout the whole flight with the onboard WiFi connection. So you can tweet from your seat or make a call mid air. The Wander Wall Head over to grab a bite to eat or a drink and meet other travellers at the Wander Wall in Premium Economy. And make sure you say hello to our friendly cabin crew, because if there’s one thing they love, it’s getting to know customers from across the globe. Stretching your legs has never been so interesting.

A bright idea The dynamic new mood lighting on board the 787 Dreamliner Feel lighter, brighter and say goodbye to jet lag. The new dynamic mood lighting on the 787 adjusts throughout the flight to the destination time zone, helping you arrive feeling relaxed and as energised as you would on a normal day. Drinks all round The Dreamliner Bar, a social space for Upper Class travellers The Upper Class Bar is the new social space for Upper Class travellers. You can relax, chat to friends and other customers. Or just take some time out to enjoy the extraordinary views over your favourite drink. Unwinding never felt so good. Sitting comfortably The new 787 offers maximum legroom and soft seating throughout all cabins Economy seating on the 787 is more comfortable than ever. We’ve made the most of the space around the seats, so there’s maximum legroom and plenty of space for reclining. Whichever cabin you’re in, the seats are soft and beautifully designed. And if you’re travelling in Upper Class, you can look forward to stretching out in a 33″ wide flat bed. Ceilings throughout are also higher, allowing more air and light to circulate and giving a feeling of space and freedom.

Time flies Birthday Girl has a maximum altitude of 40,000ft, a range of over 8,300 miles and speeds of over 640mph. Prepare to reach your destination faster than you ever thought possible. Pure and simple Feeling comfortable onboard the 787 goes even further than advanced seating and ample legroom. The air’s cleaner and the cabin pressure is lower, meaning you’ll arrive feeling refreshed and revived. Not only that, the windows are the largest on any commercial aircraft. So you can eat, dine or relax in perfectly natural light. And when you’re ready for the end of the day, the dynamic mood lighting and electronically dimmable windows lower the brightness. Ending on a high note Our new 787 is 21% more fuel efficient than the aircraft it’s replacing. It’s innovation at its greenest. Our 787 Dreamliner is innovative, luxurious and miles ahead. And it’s built to make flying even more enjoyable.

Boeing: 787 Dreamliner Connecting the World New Routes and the 787 Dreamliner Family With its unparalleled fuel efficiency and range flexibility, the 787 Dreamliner family is helping airlines open new nonstop routes profitably. At more than 120 new routes and counting, the 787 family is connecting cities and people around the world while meeting passengers’ expectations for direct flights. Connecting the World New Routes and the 787 Dreamliner Family With its unparalleled fuel efficiency and range flexibility, the 787 Dreamliner family is helping airlines open new nonstop routes profitably. At more than 120 new routes and counting, the 787 family is connecting cities and people around the world while meeting passengers’ expectations for direct flights. Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Aircraft Info Home » Aircraft Spotlight » Boeing 787 Dreamliner Boeing 787 Dreamliner Ian Stephens 0 Developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the 787 Dreamliner is one of the newer planes brought to the scenes. There are different versions of this twin-engine jet, wide-bodied design, which seat between 210 and 335 people.

The whole point of the design was to replace the Boeing 767, which still remains in service to this day. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner in flight It quickly became known as the most fuel-efficient airliner in Boeing’s history, and continues to hold that title now. It was also the first major plane to have composite primary materials to create the airframe, and has chevrons along the engine nacelles to reduce the amount of noise heard from it. Qualified pilots that fly the 777 will not have to do any extra training. The design was also done with pilots in mind, and uses very similar features. Retiring the 767 From Service The idea was that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner would replace the 767, allowing it to retire from service. However, that aircraft is still in use today, and still being manufactured. This is due to problems of onboard fires on the Dreamliner. The experts found that the lithium-ion batteries were causing the fires, along with other in-service issues arising. It led to all Dreamliners being grounded in the USA from January 16, 2013 on orders from the FAA.

The batteries were redesigned to avoid the issues, and by April 19, 2013 the FAA could reassess the situation. Just a week later, the grounding was lifted and the planes were back in the air. Ethiopian Airlines was the first to place its Dreamliner back in the air on April 27. During all that, alternatives were needed. Since the 767 was the closest match, it made sense to keep that in service. There are hopes that the Boeing 767 can now be retired. The Development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner The 747 was the first jetliner with the wide body that would enter into service. However, it was just two years after the development that a new one was being created. This was simply called 7X7 for the time being, and would replace one of the earlier narrow-body versions, the 707. It was clear that people wanted twin-aisle seating and more space. Room for more passengers was also a necessity. Other considerations to make were an aircraft that would be able to take off and land on the shorter airstrips, while creating something for shorter distances. Unfortunately, the latter consideration was not a popular one.

People wanted longer journeys on planes, which meant the creation of a transcontinental plane. Boeing 787 on production line The new plane became the 767, and would be very similar to the Airbus A300. The plane was certainly popular, but two decades later a replacement craft was needed. The sales for the 747 and 767 had slowed down, as consumers and airline companies wanted something more efficient and fuel-friendly. Operating costs were a major factor in the amount of flights the companies could do. Petroleum prices were on the rise, and the September 11, 2001 attacks caused disruptions for the airline market. Something needed to be done, and work on the designated 7E7 was started.This would be a twinjet, midsized aircraft. It would replace many different types of aircrafts, including the Sonic Cruiser, and the Yellowstone Project was started. The E was supposed to stand for the plane being environmentally friendly, efficient and many other variations of great terms. However, according to Boeing, it was just supposed to stand for the number eight. The plane would be the 787. While focusing on efficiency, there was also a focus on lower costs.

Instead of a lot of different aluminium sheets for the fuselage, one composite barrel would be used. It was the first of its kind. As well as that, it would be 20 percent more efficient than the 767 that it was going to replace. From that, 40 percent of the efficiency would come from the engines, which would be powered by the Trent 1000 from Rolls Royce and the GEnx from General Electric. Deciding on the Title Name The Boeing 787 didn’t quite have the best ring to it, so a better name was requested. Boeing allowed the public to vote, with the names Global Cruiser, eLiner, Stratoclimber and Dreamliner being available. 500,000 people voted and Dreamliner was the clear winner. Just shortly after that, All Nippon Airways of Japan became the first customers. 50 aircrafts were ordered on April 26, 2005,and the first deliveries would happen in 2008.

There was a request for the different number of passengers that the planes could handle, with 20 that would seat between 210 and 250 and 30 planes that would seat between 290 and 330 people. With these new options, the Japanese airline would be able to offer flights to areas of the world that it had never done before. The sky really was the limit. The Wind Tunnel Testing and More Boeing 787 model in wind tunnel test. Image credit: Boeing. Wind tunnel testing was a necessity for the 787. It went through the five-meter tunnel at Farnborough, UK and the wind tunnel at NASA’s Ames Research Center. After that, ONERA was given the chance to test its capabilities. The testing helped to finalize some of the designs. Initially, it was supposed to be a large, fancy aircraft that would be impressive to look at. However, it was styled down in the end, with conventional cockpit windows, nose and fin. All this seemed to have helped, as the number of orders reached 237 by the end of 2004. It certainly helped that Boeing initially priced its eighth version of the aircraft low at $120 million.

That was later increased to between $157 million and $167 million. The 787-9 had a maximum valuation of $200 million. Getting Outside Firms Involved The delivery needed to happen as quickly as possible. While Boeing chose to build the aircrafts in less traditional methods with assemblies and subcontractors, there was another way of doing it. Using outside firms was a consideration, and Japanese companies became the first outside firms to gain key roles in the designing of the airliners. The companies would end up co-designing and building the wings, along with 35 percent of the rest of the aircraft. It made sense considering it would be a Japanese airline company getting the launch versions. Using the outside help definitely helped with the creation timeframe. Final assembly took place in May 2007. However, that did lead to a loss for some of the subcontractors, such as Finmeccanica, which lost 750 million Euros in total by 2013. The Process of Testing Now all that was needed was the testing process. This could happen in stages, and it took just three months to get the certification from the US and European regulators for the Trent 1000 engine.

The crash testing was then the next step, which took place on August 23 of that same year. The first physical test showed that the same things would happen as predicted, which meant that no more physical testing was required. However, while this helped speed up the process of testing, there were critics out there that hated the idea. Some believed that the way the fuselage was created, there would be a toxic gas that would be created if the plane crashed and burned. This was never indicated on Boeing’s test data. Boeing proved that passengers would have just as good a chance of surviving a crash as on any other airliner, and met requirements set by the FAA. It was seven months later that the GEnx engine was certified, and 10 months later that electrical systems were tested. Boeing created a static site for testing on September 27, 2008 to make it easier, safer and quicker for getting through all the testing necessities. By the end of 2008, the FAA decided the Dreamliner had passed its maintenance program. Factory testing was then required, which started mid 2009. This was where some of the problems were noted.

The range of gear swings and other components was about 10 percent less than promised, and the aircraft weighed in at eight percent more than expected. Redesigns were required, and the newer versions were created. There were delays in deliveries for some companies. Postponing the First Flight Boeing 787 landing After all the testing and redesigns, Boeing decided that the first flight would be within a fortnight of the Paris Air Show on June 15, 2009. However, there was the need to reinforce the aircraft’s side-of-body section and that would lead to delays. The new 787 would be available from August 27, and the first flight would take place later. Only then could the deliveries start. The first three Dreamliners ever created were deemed unsuitable for selling, and for testing only. That led to a $2.5 billion write-off for the manufacturing. A second production line was needed, and that was annouced on October 2009. It would be December before the last high-speed tests could take place, and only then could the first flight happen.

Boeing did stick to the deadline of the end of 2009, though, with the first flight being on December 15, 2009. Bad weather did mean the flight was dropped from four hours to three. After that, further problems were discovered and it would be July 18, 2010 when the first international appearance would happy at the Farnborough Air Show. Things never did quite go to plan for the Dreamliner. All Nippon Airways did eventually get the plane though, and made its first commercial flight on October 26, 2011. Only 140 have been built up until April 2014, but more are on the way. SHARE THIS ARTICLE : Airbus Boeing airliners become private jets - Business Insider Boeing 787-8 BBJ.Kestrel Aviation Management In July, China's HNA Aviation Group will welcome a shiny new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to its fleet. This plane is special because it is the first 787 Dreamliner to be built purely as a private jet.

HNA's new Dreamliner is symbolic of a hot new trend in private and corporate aviation — long-range, mid-size, wide-body airliners. "It's an emerging market that didn't really exist in the past," Kestrel Aviation Management CEO Stephen Vella told Business Insider. Kestrel oversaw the design, engineering, and fabrication of HNA's new Dreamliner which has an estimated total cost topping $300 million. Airbus and Boeing have long offered versions of its airliners to private customers under their Airbus Corporate Jet and Boeing Business Jet programs. However, buyers of these airliner-based private jets have long gravitated to either four-engine, jumbo jets like the Boeing 747 or smaller, narrow-body jets such as the Airbus A320. "The market is traditionally separated into two buckets," Vella said.

"The big Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s primarily catered to heads of state while the smaller Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s are popular corporate runabouts as well as secondary planes in government fleets." Boeing 787-8 BBJ interior.Kestrel Aviation Management Although twin-engine, mid-size, wide-body jets such as the Boeing 767 and the Airbus A330 have long been available, they never quite caught on with the private jet crowd. However, in recently years, ultra high-end private jet customers have become increasingly interested in the new generation mid-size, wide-body planes such as the Dreamliner and Airbus A350. What's changed? According to Vella, several factors led to the shift. First, leading business men and heads of state are generally pressed for time. As a result, they prefer be to able to fly anywhere they need to go non-stop. Until recently, this simply wasn't possible in a twin-engined jet. The traditional thinking in the aviation dictates that there's safety in the number of engines a plane has.

Regulating bodies such as the US Federal Aviation Administration have even placed limits on which ultra-long-range intercontinental routes twin-engine jets can fly. As a result, government and corporate clients looking for a plane with the range and capability to go anywhere in the world had to turn to four-engined jumbos. However, with the incredible reliability of modern turbofan engines, the regulatory limitations on twin-engined jets have essentially been wiped out. Now, planes such as the A350 and the 787 can fly anywhere the owner requires, but in a slightly smaller and more affordable package. For instance, HNA's new state-of-the-art composite Boeing has a range of 9,800 miles even when packed with passengers, luggage, and fuel. A similarly outfitted A350 ACJ will be able to delivery that type of performance as well. "You can fly between virtually any two points on the globe," Vella said of the Dreamliner. Japanese government Boeing 747-400.REUTERS/Jason Le Secondly, the price of crude oil has fallen dramatically over the past two years.

Even though cheaper fuel makes buying and operating a thirsty, four-engined, jumbo jet much more attractive, low crude prices have also cut dramatically into the income of Middle Eastern governments. Unfortunately for the 747 BBJ, they are also some of the plane's biggest customers. According to Vella, all major Middle Eastern governments such as Saudi Arabia, operate large royal fleets, many of which are jumbo jets, for elite members of the ruling family and officials to use. Over the next decade or so, these fleets with need to be updated. Vella, whose company has bought and sold more than $50 billion worth of commercial and private jets, believes the Middle Eastern clientele are ready to do some belt-tightening and downsize to smaller planes. Finally, another factor that has benefited the Dreamliner-sized jet is the increasing public sensitivity towards political largess. Unlike the US, where the plane that operates as Air Force One is held in high esteem and seen as a symbol of national power, the public in many countries view a large presidential aircraft as a sign of political over indulgence. According to Vella, this is a particularly sensitive issue in Europe.

However, a smaller aircraft with the performance capabilities of a jumbo, but in a less attention-getting package is a reasonable alternative. "The mid-size jets have less ramp presence," Vella said. "They offer the owner much more discretion." Kestrel CEO Stephen Vella inside the Boeing 787-8 BBJ.Kestrel Aviation Management After all, it's hard to arrive discretely in a jumbo jet no matter where you go. Even at the world's busiest international airports, an aircraft the size of a 747 or Airbus A380 is conspicuous. But all of this requires some perspective. Even the "smaller" 787 BBJ is still an absolutely massive aircraft. At 186 ft. long, even Donald Trump's converted Boeing 757 is dwarfed by the new Dreamliner. And with 2,400 sq. ft. of living space, it offers the same amount of room as an average American suburban home. What's coming According to the long-time aviation executive, over the next 15-20 years, demand from just the Middle East for Boeing 787-sized private jets will top 30 aircraft.

That may not sound like many planes, but at more than $300 million a pop, that's about $10 billion in business from just a handful of customers. In fact, Vella believes demand from East Asia will be just as intense over that period of time. "Because of the high number of long distance and (trans-oceanic) flights the customers make, these are the perfect planes for Asia," Vella added. Whether the market for these mid-size, twin-engine wide-body private jets actually skyrockets remain to be seen. But with the unprecedented level of advanced technology, luxury, and performance it can offer, they are an undeniably attractive option for the right buyer. Regulators Around the Globe Ground Boeing 787s - The New York Times The New York Times Business Day |Regulators Around the Globe Ground Boeing 787s Search Continue reading the main story Photo The 787 that made an emergency landing in Japan on Wednesday. All 137 passengers and crew members were evacuated safely.

Credit Kyodo News, via Reuters Regulators around the globe on Thursday ordered the grounding of Boeing 787s until they could determine what caused a new type of battery to fail on two planes in recent days, resulting in an emergency landing Wednesday and a fire last week. The directives in Europe, India and Japan followed an order Wednesday by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounding planes operated by American carriers. The decisions are a result of incidents involving a 787 that was parked in Boston on Jan. 7 and another in Japan that had to make an emergency landing Wednesday morning after an alarm warning of smoke in the cockpit. In Japan on Thursday, the Transportation Ministry issued a formal order to ground all 787s until concerns over the aircraft’s battery systems are resolved. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines on Wednesday had voluntarily grounded their 787s, leading to more than two dozen canceled flights. Continue reading the main story European safety regulators also said they would ground Dreamliners, which would affect LOT of Poland, the only carrier that operates the jets in that region.

A spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency, based in Cologne, said that it was prepared to provide some of its own experts to support the Federal Aviation Administration’s investigation but that no such assistance had been requested yet. Advertisement In India, the aviation regulator grounded all six of the 787s operated by the state-owned carrier Air India. LAN Airlines of Chile said it was following suit, acting in coordination with the Chilean Aeronautical Authority. And on Thursday, Qatar Airways said it would follow the F.A.A.’s decision and immediately ground its five 787s. The F.A.A.’s emergency directive, issued Wednesday night, initially applied to United Airlines, the only American carrier using the new plane so far, with six 787s. Boeing, based in Chicago, has a lot riding on the 787, and its stock dropped nearly 3.4 percent Wednesday to $74.34. The company has outlined ambitious plans to double its production rate to 10 planes a month by the end of 2013. It is also starting to build a stretch version and considering an even larger one after that.

“We are confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity,” Jim McNerney, Boeing’s chief executive, said in a statement. The grounding — an unusual action for a new plane — focuses on one of the more risky design choices made by Boeing, namely to make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries aboard its airplanes for the first time. Photo Passengers evacuated a Boeing 787 operated by All Nippon Airways on Wednesday. It made an emergency landing in Japan after smoke arose in the cockpit. Credit Television Yamaguchi Broadcasting Systems, via Reuters Until now, much of the attention on the 787 was focused on its lighter composite materials and more efficient engines, meant to usher in a new era of more fuel-efficient travel, particularly over long distances. The batteries are part of an electrical system that replaces many mechanical and hydraulic ones that are common in previous jets. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The 787’s problems could jeopardize one of its major features, its ability to fly long distances at a lower cost. The plane is certified to fly 180 minutes from an airport. The U.S.

government is unlikely to extend that to 330 minutes, as Boeing has promised, until all problems with the plane have been resolved. For Boeing, “it’s crucial to get it right,” said Richard L. Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia. “They’ve got a brief and closing window in which they can convince the public and their flying customers that this is not a problem child.” In Japan on Thursday, government investigators examined the 787 that made the emergency landing. Footage on the public broadcaster NHK showed officials removing a charred and swollen lithium-ion battery pack from the front of the plane. Corrosive liquid appeared to have leaked out of the batteries, leaving streaks on their blue casing, said Hideo Kosugi, a safety official who is head of the inquiry. Investigators also found black discolorations outside exhaust vents on the plane, which suggested that there had been smoke inside the aircraft at one point. “The batteries have retained their basic shape, but are black all over,” Mr. Kosugi said.

Something caused the battery to overheat and spew liquid, he added, “but we still do not know what is the cause.” The 787 uses two identical lithium-ion batteries, each about one and a half to two times the size of a typical car battery. One battery, in the rear electrical equipment bay near the wings, is used to start the auxiliary power unit, a small engine in the tail that is used most often to provide power for the plane while it is on the ground. The other battery, called the main battery, starts the pilot’s computer displays and serves as a backup for flight systems. The maker of the 787’s batteries, GS Yuasa of Japan, has declined to comment on the problems. Boeing has defended the novel use of the batteries and said it had put in place a series of systems meant to prevent overcharging and overheating. In a conference call last week with reporters, Boeing’s chief engineer for the 787, Mike Sinnett, said that the company had long been aware of possible problems with lithium-ion batteries but that it had built in numerous redundant features to keep any problems with the batteries from threatening the plane in flight.

He said that the batteries had not had any problems in 1.3 million hours of flight and that Boeing was trying to understand what had caused the problems. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Sinnett said that if the lithium-ion batteries started a fire, it would be nearly impossible to put out because the batteries produce oxygen when burning. Mr. Sinnett said that the plane was designed to survive such an event in flight, when the cabin’s air-pressure system protects passengers and allows the plane to vent the smoke outside. The plane is also designed, he said, to contain a fire to a small area. “Fire suppressants just won’t work on a situation like that,” he said in the conference call. “So something like that is very difficult to put out.” Heat from the fire on the plane parked in Boston last week was so extreme that it melted the bolts holding the battery to the equipment rack. Firefighters had to use a hydraulic tool to cut it loose. The solutions to the battery problem could be simple, analysts said, like encasing the battery in a stronger shell or monitoring the batteries more closely.

But if Boeing had to switch to more conventional nickel-cadmium or lead-acid batteries, they would have to be larger, adding more weight to the plane and cutting into the plane’s fuel-savings potential. Photo The Boeing jet’s auxiliary power unit battery. Credit National Transportation Safety Board, via Reuters The emergency landing Wednesday was the latest in a string of incidents for the 787, which also included an electrical failure, fuel leaks and other smaller mishaps. But the latest event raised concerns that the 787’s problems were potentially more serious than thought. Lithium-ion batteries provide power more quickly than conventional batteries and can be recharged quickly. They are increasingly used in cellphones, computers and electric cars but also have known risks of fires and explosions, particularly if they overheat or overcharge. While the Federal Aviation Agency has recognized these hazards, it still decided in 2007 to allow Boeing to use them in the 787 as long as the company took a series of protective measures. At the time, the agency noted that “lithium ion batteries are significantly more susceptible to internal failures that can lead to self-sustaining increases in temperature and pressure” than conventional batteries.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story As part of the emergency directive Wednesday, the U.S. government said it would “validate that the 787 batteries and the battery system on the aircraft are in compliance with the special condition the agency issued as part of the aircraft’s certification.” Eight airlines now fly the 787, which entered service in November 2011. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines in Japan own 24 of them in total. The other operators are Air India, Ethiopian Airlines, LAN, LOT, Qatar Airways and United. Orders for about 800 additional 787s are in the pipeline. The airplane’s six power generators produce enough electricity to power 500 houses. By contrast, the Boeing 777, a larger aircraft, can generate only a fifth of the 787’s electric power. Replacing batteries on the 787 with different ones, like metal hydride batteries, is theoretically possible but would be costly, said Hans J. Weber, the president of Tecop International, an aviation consulting firm. He estimated that different batteries could double the weight of the current systems and would be twice the size.

“It’s not trivial, but it could be done,” Mr. Weber said. Boeing expects to sell 5,000 787s in the next 20 years. It is counting on the Dreamliner in the global sales battle with Airbus, its European rival, which plans to introduce its own carbon-composite plane, the A350, in the second half of 2014. Boeing has said that it outsourced too much of the work on the 787 to suppliers who were willing, collectively, to cover billions of dollars of the development costs, and that many parts needed reworking. Boeing has said it expects profit percentages averaging in the low single digits on the first 1,100 planes, which could include deliveries into 2021. But David E. Strauss, an analyst at UBS, cautioned last month that Boeing’s production costs might remain too high for it to make a profit on any of the plane sales before 2021.

While problems are common with the introduction of a new model — including the Airbus A380, the Boeing 777 and the Boeing 747 — analysts say the issue could become a growing embarrassment for Boeing if travelers or airlines began to lose confidence in the Dreamliner. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The chief executive of Airbus — which just a year ago faced the worldwide grounding of its twin-deck A380 after small cracks were found in a component of the plane’s giant wings — on Thursday expressed sympathy with his rival’s current woes. Photo From left, Ali Bahrami and Randy Babbitt, representing the F.A.A.; Jim Albaugh, then Boeing’s executive vice president; and Scott Fancher, then head of the 787 program, at an event in August. Credit Joshua Trujillo/SeattlePI.com “I don’t bet on the difficulties of a competitor to build Airbus’s success,” Fabrice Brégier, the Airbus chief, told reporters at the company’s headquarters in Toulouse, France.

“I honestly wish all the best to my colleagues at Boeing to get it back into service, because an aircraft is designed to fly.” Other executives at Airbus expressed confidence that the American plane maker would get to the bottom of what caused the battery problems. But some also quietly acknowledged that an extensive review of the battery technology now under way by U.S. regulators risked setting off costly delays to Airbus’s rival jet in development, the A350-WXB, which uses the same type of batteries and is currently slated to enter service in late 2014. While it is far from certain at this stage that the Federal Aviation Administration will ultimately find enough problems with the lithium-ion batteries to ban their use, executives said such a move could not be ruled out. “It is a possibility,” said Tom Williams, Airbus’s executive vice president for programs, said in interview. An order by regulators to replace lighter, more-efficient lithium-ion batteries with larger, heavier nickel-cadmium ones would represent a major redesign challenge that would significantly delay the A350’s entry into service, he said. “This is not something you would do over a weekend,” said Mr.

Williams, who estimated that conventional batteries would need to be 30 percent to 40 percent larger. “It would be a matter of months.” The Airbus A350 makes extensive use of many similar technologies that are also onboard the 787, including lightweight, carbon-fiber based materials in its structures as well as advanced electrical systems that are powered by lithium-ion batteries — albeit to a much smaller extent than the 787. According to Airbus, the A350’s electrical architecture relies on batteries to supply roughly 550 kilowatts of its onboard power — about one-third of the 1,450 kilowatts of battery power on a 787. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In contrast to the 787’s two identical lithium-ion batteries, the A350 is designed to use four batteries, all of which are located in the front of the plane, below the cockpit area. And the Airbus jet also makes more extensive use of conventional hydraulic systems to drive functions like braking, wing de-icing and cabin air-conditioning — functions that are all electric on the Boeing jet.

Airbus said that the lithium-ion batteries for the A350 were being supplied by Saft, a French company based in Bordeaux. Airbus already uses small lithium-ion batteries to a limited extent on its A380, as a backup power source for the motors that open its 16 cabin doors and strip lighting on the floors that is used to guide passengers to emergency exits. The batteries — which each weigh no more than 400 grams, about the size of a laptop battery — also power the plane’s emergency locator transmitter, which is used only in the event of a crash. Mr. Brégier, the Airbus chief, emphasized that it was too early to say whether the 787’s batteries were the source of jet’s problems, and noted that the Federal Aviation Administration and other safety regulators had been giving close scrutiny to lithium-ion technology for some time. He added that the U.S. aviation regulator and its European counterpart had reviewed the A350’s design and “seemed very happy with the selected architecture” until now. “We don’t see any reason, at least until we get additional information, to change our design,” Mr. Brégier said.

“We are confident this design is robust.” Hiroko Tabuchi contributed reporting from Tokyo, Sruthi Gottipati from New Delhi, Bettina Wassener from Hong Kong and Nicola Clark from Toulouse. Correction: January 17, 2013 An earlier version of this article said an emergency landing of the 787 took place on Monday. It was Wednesday. A version of this article appears in print on January 18, 2013, in The International Herald Tribune. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Boeing private jet is flying luxury home - Business Insider print Kestrel Aviation Management Imagine if you owned a 2,400-square-foot luxury home with the ability to fly you and 39 of your closest friends to anywhere you want in less than 17 hours. Next month, China's HNA Group will take delivery of a new Boeing 787-8 private jet. As configured, the 787 Boeing Business Jet, has a range of almost 9,800 miles even when packed with 40 passengers, luggage, and fuel.

With a flying time of about 17 hours, the plane can reach virtually any destination on earth, Kestrel Aviation Management CEO Stephen Vella told Business Insider. From start to finish, the aviation consulting firm, Kestrel Aviation , oversaw the creation of this 787. Although several 787s have been converted from passenger service to private use, this is the first Dreamliner to be built specifically as a BBJ, Vella said. It is the 143rd Dreamliner to roll out of Boeing's factory and first flew in December 2013. The plane was delivered to Kestrel in January 2014. Since no one had done a true Boeing 787 private jet before, Kestrel, along with partners Pierrejean Design Studios and Greenpoint Technologies, had to design and engineer the interior of the aircraft from scratch. In fact, the interior took a year to engineer as well as another year and a half to fabricate and install, Vella said. The innovative Boeing 787 BBJ is not exactly cheap.

The base Boeing 787-8 carries a list price of $224.6 million, while the modifications add another $100 million or so to the price tag. Here's a closer look at the first Boeing 787-8 BBJ: ... all the way down to the narrow-body 737. Now, the latest Boeing jet to get the BBJ treatment is the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner first flew in 2009, and the composite-body airliner is renowned for its range, comfort, and fuel efficiency. Unlike its passenger-ferrying compatriots, however, the BBJ version carries far fewer people but is packed with a ton more features. Enter the plane through its round foyer and ... Kestrel Aviation Management ... you'll immediately encounter the doors to its massive master suite. It is divided into several sections and designed to be totally independent from the rest of the plane. Kestrel Aviation Management The master suite's sleeping area features a large California king-size bed.

According to Vella, the suite is designed to be an "oasis of silence." In fact, the noise level in the room during flight is just 48 decibels — on par with a quiet suburban home. Kestrel Aviation Management The massive master bathroom features a set of large marble his and hers sinks. Kestrel Aviation Management The bath area also features a double-size shower as well as heated marble floors in some sections. Kestrel Aviation Management The master suite also includes this gigantic dressing room and walk-in closet. There's a refrigerator and safe as well in the suite. Kestrel Aviation Management Connecting the foyer and the rest of the plane is a hallway designed to look like a series of vertical waves. Kestrel Aviation Management Emerge from the hallway and you'll find yourself in the plane's cavernous main lounge. To create an open and airy feel, the room is free of any physical partitions. Instead, designers segmented the space using different furniture colors. Kestrel Aviation Management Looking toward the front of the plane, the lounge features a pair of day beds positioned in front of a large 55-inch flat-screen display.

On each side of the center screen, there are individual seats each equipped with a 24-inch screen. Kestrel Aviation Management Looking toward the back of the plane are a pair of divans that can be turned into sleeping accommodations or used as a dining and meeting area. Also at the rear of the lounge are a pair of 47-inch screens. A stylish, round VIP lavatory is just aft of the lounge. Kestrel Aviation Management Aft of the round VIP lavatory is the guest cabin. It features 18 full-flat, first-class sleeper seats. Behind the guest cabin is a row of six premium economy seats for the staff. Kestrel Aviation Management The plane is equipped with five bathrooms. Kestrel Aviation Management Overall, the interior is designed with an understated elegance that's devoid of needless clutter and yet filled with subtle details, Vella said. Kestrel Aviation Management This Boeing 787 BBJ is expected to enter service with HNA Group in July. According to Vella, the plane will likely be used by the company's chairman as well as ultra-high-end charter customers.

* Kestrel Aviation Management *A spokesman for Deer Jet, the HNA Group's private jet operator that acquired the aircraft, clarified that the 787 will be used for "luxury air travel services as well as high-end charter". In addition, the spokesman indicated that the aircraft will be operated by Deer Jet subsidiary Hongkong Jet. Deepening Crisis for the Boeing 787 - The New York Times The New York Times Global Business |Deepening Crisis for the Boeing 787 Search Continue reading the main story Photo An All Nippon Airways flight in Takamatsu, Japan, after an emergency landing on Wednesday. Credit Noboru Tomura/Asahi Shimbun, via Associated Press TOKYO — The two largest Japanese airlines said Wednesday that they would ground their fleets of Boeing 787 aircraft after one operated by All Nippon Airways made an emergency landing in western Japan . The latest episode elevates the safety concerns about Boeing’s new flagship airliner. The emergency landing followed a string of problems in the past month with the Boeing 787, known as the Dreamliner , including a battery fire, fuel leaks and a cracked cockpit window.

All Nippon said the problems Wednesday involved the same lithium-ion batteries that caught fire last week in Boston on a Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines. Last week, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered a comprehensive review of the Dreamliner’s manufacturing and design, with a focus on the plane’s electrical systems. During a news conference last Thursday, the U.S. transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, made no mention of grounding Dreamliners. Boeing executives declined to comment Wednesday on the Japanese groundings. The company’s shares were down 3.7 percent in afternoon trading Wednesday in New York. Continue reading the main story Eight airlines now fly the Dreamliner. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines in Japan own 24 of the 50 delivered by Boeing since November 2011. The other operators are Air India, Ethiopian Airlines, LAN Airlines of Chile, LOT of Poland, Qatar Airways and United Airlines of the United States. Orders for about 800 additional 787s are in the pipeline.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story In the episode in Japan early Wednesday, the 137 passengers and crew members aboard Flight NH692 from Yamaguchi Ube Airport, in western Japan, to Tokyo used emergency slides to leave the aircraft early after battery trouble and an “unusual smell” in the cockpit prompted its pilots to land instead at Takamatsu airport, according to All Nippon. The jet’s main battery in the front of the plane was later found to have become discolored and to be seeping electrolyte fluid, All Nippon said. Ryosei Nomura, a spokesman for All Nippon, said Wednesday that the airline was temporarily grounding all 17 of its Dreamliners for inspections, leading to the cancellation of 38 domestic and international flights. Japan Airlines also said it would ground the five Dreamliners it was operating; two other aircraft were already undergoing safety checks. Akihiro Ota, the Japanese transportation minister, said that the emergency landing had raised concerns about the Dreamliner’s safety and that he would dispatch officials to investigate. “I see this as a serious incident which could have led to a serious accident,” Mr. Ota said in Tokyo.

All Nippon and Japan Airlines said the planes would return to the air after safety checks, although it was unclear how soon that might be. All Nippon said it would keep its Dreamliner fleet grounded Thursday, canceling 35 domestic flights and using other types of aircraft for its international routes. The review by the U.S. aviation administration is unusual, just 15 months after the plane entered service following a lengthy certification process by the agency. That review is in addition to a formal investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board of what caused a battery fire on a Japan Airlines plane that flew to Boston from Tokyo last week. The safety board said Wednesday it was “currently in the process of gathering information about the B-787 emergency landing in Japan earlier today.” Boeing has sought to ease concerns about the plane’s design and reliability, and has said it is no more trouble-prone than other new commercial airplane programs. Updesh Kapur, a spokesman for Qatar Airways, affirmed on Wednesday the airline’s view that the Dreamliner was safe but declined to comment on the decisions by the Japanese carriers. Qatar Airways operates three Dreamliners and has orders and purchase options for 57 more.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story Last week, Akbar Al Baker, the Qatar Airways chief executive, played down the recent string of Dreamliner incidents as “teething issues with various components” and expressed confidence that Boeing would resolve any problems. He added that his airline was taking “every precaution” to ensure its fleet was safe to fly. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy Ethiopian Airways, when asked about the latest incidents with the Dreamliner, referred to a news release the carrier issued earlier this week. “The Dreamliner is a highly capable and safe aircraft,” Tewolde Gebremariam, chief executive of the airline, said in the statement, dated Monday. “However, like any new technology aircraft entering into service,” he added, “it is normal to encounter some minor bugs here and there.” LOT, which began Dreamliner service last month between Warsaw and Prague, inaugurated trans-Atlantic flights with the plane Wednesday, with a flight to Chicago that took off around 5 p.m. local time from Warsaw.

The head of India’s airline regulator said he was awaiting a report from Air India, the state-run carrier, and Boeing before making any decision. “We’re not looking at grounding the aircraft,” said Arun Mishra, director general of civil aviation, noting that the regulator planned to analyze reports and check the airline’s safety. “We’re taking the issue seriously,” he added. The Dreamliner relies more on electrical systems than previous generations of airplanes. Electrical power operates hydraulic pumps, de-ices the wings, pressurizes the cabin and handles other tasks. The plane also has electric brakes instead of hydraulic ones. The plane uses lithium-ion batteries, which are lighter, hold more energy and can be more quickly recharged than conventional batteries. But Boeing engineers have acknowledged that there is a risk of fire if the batteries are overcharged. The Japanese manufacturer GS Yuasa, which makes batteries for the Dreamliner, declined to comment on the jet’s troubles. While problems are common with the introduction of a new model — including the Airbus A380, the Boeing 777 and the Boeing 747 — analysts say the issue could become a growing embarrassment for Boeing if travelers or airlines begin to lose confidence in the Dreamliner.

Because so many Japanese-based manufacturers supply parts for the Dreamliner, any delays or cancellations of orders would be a blow to Japanese industry. So far, safety experts have said the problems with the Dreamliner point more to early-stage difficulties than structural faults. But the problem is more than just one of reputation for Boeing: The plane maker has said it expects to sell 5,000 Dreamliners in the next 20 years. Analysts say it will be years before it breaks even because of delays. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Scoot, the low-cost offshoot of Singapore Airlines, and Qantas Group of Australia, both of which have placed large orders for the aircraft — but have not yet taken delivery of any — said they remained committed to it. Qantas said it had been kept “fully informed” by Boeing about the performance of the Dreamliner since it entered commercial service in 2011. “We are confident that the current issues will be resolved before Jetstar receives its first aircraft as scheduled in the second half of this year,” it said, referring to Qantas’s low-cost carrier.

Scoot, which expects to receive the first of 20 Dreamliners late next year, likewise said it was “confident that Boeing’s ongoing performance monitoring and external review process will identify and resolve any issues.” Bettina Wassener reported from Hong Kong. Nicola Clark contributed reporting from Paris, Jad Mouawad from New York and Sruthi Gottipati from New Delhi. A version of this article appears in print on January 17, 2013, in The International Herald Tribune. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

Question: The new Boeing 787 jet is also known as what?
Answer: Dreamliner